Sunday, June 5, 2016

Welcome Guest Marty Wingate & #GIVEAWAY

I so enjoyed Marty Wingate's delicious English cozy "Empty Nest" that I asked her to be a guest here on Mystery Lovers' Kitchen. A chocolate cake featured quite prominently in the book and every time it was mentioned, I drooled at the thought of a delicious piece of cake and a cup of tea! I managed to convince Marty to share the recipe with us today!

By Marty Wingate

Julia Lanchester finds it difficult to resist chocolate cake
– especially the kind made by Nuala Darke, who runs the tea room in
Smeaton-under-Lyme, the village where Julia manages the Tourist Information
Center.

I set my Birds of a Feather mystery series in this fictional
village in the real county of Suffolk, England. Birds infuse the stories – how
could they not, when Julia, the protagonist, is daughter of the celebrity
ornithologist Rupert Lanchester (he’s got his own television show). But the
books (#1 – The Rhyme of the Magpie;
#2 – Empty Nest; #3 – now under
constructions) are also filled with quirky characters, a bit of romance, food,
and – of course – a murder, which Julia feels compelled to investigate.

Julia loves to eat and she’s one of those people who can eat
constantly (it seems) and never gain an ounce. Although all authors put a lot
of themselves into their characters this one trait is, sadly, where Julia and I
part ways.

So, on to the chocolate cake, which you will read about in Empty Nest (along with Nuala’s other tea
room treats, such as cheese-and-bacon scones). The recipe below is my own
version of a cake that is served in many of the National Trust cafes around
Britain – it’s incredibly chocolately and amazing good. Be sure to check the
size of your cake pans – they should be on the small side, only 8 inches in
diameter. I hope you will try the recipe out and also read about Julia’s
escapades. I’m just finishing up #3, which will be released early in 2017.

Nuala’s Chcolate Cake

Cake:

5 ½ ounces dark chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped *

2 cups brown sugar, loosely packed

1 scant cup whole milk

1 ½ cups plain flour

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

3 Tbl. cocoa

pinch of salt

6 oz. (1 ½ sticks) butter, softened

3 large eggs, beaten

½ tsp. vanilla extract

Ganache:

12 oz. dark chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped

1 ¼ cup cream

For the cake:

1. Set the oven to 325 degrees F and butter/oil/spray two
8-inch cake tins. Line the base of each with parchment paper.

2. Put the chocolate, half the sugar, and about two-thirds
of the milk in a saucepan. Set it over low heat and gently stir until the
chocolate has melted and the sugar dissolved. (It should not get hot, only
warm.) Set aside.

3. Sift together: flour, baking powder, cocoa, and salt. Set
aside. Put the butter and remaining sugar in a mixing bowl and beat.

4. Gradually beat in the eggs and vanilla. Fold in the flour
mixture in three stages, alternating with the remaining milk. Fold in the warm
chocolate mixture, finishing it by hand.

5. Divide between the prepared tins and bake for 40 minutes
or until the sponge springs back when lightly pressed. Cool the cakes in the
tins for about 10 minutes, then turn out and peel off the parchment.

For the ganache:

1. Put the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of just-boiled
water, off the heat; stir until melted. OR microwave in a glass bowl on low in
20-second increments, stirring each time until melted (it gets warm, but not
hot).

2. Once melted, put the cream in a small saucepan, bring to
the boil, and pour into the melted chocolate. Using a wooden spoon, first stir,
then beat (be careful not to slosh it on yourself!) until combined and glossy.
Cool. Just as it’s finally cool, if it seems too runny, use a wire whisk and
beat it.

3. When the cake and ganache are at room temperature, place
the first layer on a plate (put a blob of ganache on the plate to help the
layer hold still), spread some ganache, then set the second layer on. (I find
it easier to set bottom-to-bottom so there’s no gap between the layers.) Cover
the cake and leave in a cool place to set.

*I was delighted to find that Nestles sells a bag of dark
chocolate morsels – more chocolatey than the semisweet chips. This is what I
used, even though chocolate chips take a bit more time to melt than if you chop
a block yourself.

Prepare the ingredients

Divide the batter

Cover with ganache

Enjoy!

And there's a GIVEAWAY!

In the meantime, here’s a giveaway offer from my other
series – the Potting Shed mysteries (about an American gardener who moves to
England and digs up more than weeds). I have a copy of the audio version of
book #1, The Garden Plot – free to
the lucky winner who will be randomly chosen. To enter the drawing, leave a
comment below – and be sure to include your email address. I’ll contact the
winner.

And visit my website (http://www.randomhousebooks.com/authors/marty-wingate/)
to sign up for my occasional newsletter with news about books and England.

You can find all my books – including Potting Shed #5, The Bluebonnet Betrayal (coming out
August), in all ebook formats – Kindle, Nook, iBookstore, Kobo, GooglePlay and
more!

Bio:

Marty Wingate is a
Seattle-based writer and speaker who shares her love of Britain in her two
mystery series. The Potting Shed books feature Pru Parke, a middle-aged
American gardener transplanted from Texas to England, and Birds of a Feather
follows Julia Lanchester, bird lover, who runs a tourist office in a Suffolk
village.

Marty writes garden articles
for magazines including Country Gardens
and the American Gardener. She is a
member of the Royal Horticultural Society, Mystery Writers of America, Sisters
in Crime, and the Crime Writers Association. She leads garden tours to England,
Scotland and Ireland, spending free moments deep in research for her books. Or
in pubs.

Okay, it's 7 a.m. and I want cake! Sounds delicious. The books are so much fun, love the settings. And audio books are great for walks and to make exercise almost bearable. Thanks for the giveaway.sallycootie@gmail.com

My mouth is watering -- Nuala's Chocolate Cake looks amazing, and not to hard to make! I am definitely picking up a copy of your Birds of a Feather mysteries. Thanks so much for sharing your recipe and for the opportunity to win an audiobook of The Garden Plot.